How to quit smoking??
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Ugh I'm with you although I have quit at least 15 times sometimes for years.I read The Easy Way by Carr last time and it was the easiest time. I need to read it again lol. Been procrastinating but I really can't afford to wait any longer. I feel how badly it's affecting my health and I just want to be done for good.2
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Never tried to stop once in 28 years, was a chain smoker. Now I vape I started at a higher nicotine and quickly moved to 0% nicotine. I think it’s so much easier now as you don’t really smell smoke everywhere. On occasion I still miss it but it’s a memory triggered when I walk past someone smoking and smell it. Vaping has worked wonders for me, on the plus side my resting heart rate is now really low and my fitness and wallet have greatly improved. Just wish I’d done it years earlier always assumed I would never be able to give up.
Good luck1 -
Check out whyquit.com2
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L1zardQueen wrote: »
Mmm, I'm thinking non-smoker. No ex-smoker should be able to say this. I went through hell personally.4 -
I went slowly cold turkey, tapering off my last carton and only smoking when I felt I needed it rather than as something to do. It's hard, no lie. Only way I've been able to stay stopped is because a carton of cigarettes costs $125 in my province. Oh for the days of $2 name brand packs!
If you want to stop smoking, you will. I've not had one for 13 years, though if I smell tobacco smoke, I WILL stop and inhale.1 -
Healing is a thing that drove it home for me. I had 2 fractured heel bones for months that wouldn’t heal. I had a lot of stress trying not to think if I would ever walk again. It wasn’t the first time quitting but the rapid improvement of my condition within the weeks and months after quitting made it the last time in my mind. I enjoyed smoking a lot. It helped me cope with many things. But coping is immaterial when you can’t live your life without pain, without a wheelchair. Surprisingly the most helpful thing I did for myself was start knitting again. It kept my hands busy. Nicotine gum was a good tool too. I second the vaping endorsement. My dad couldn’t quit the lifelong cigarette habit any other way. I believe it’s saving his life currently. Good luck!0
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sflano1783 wrote: »Iv tried everything patches,gums sprays and therapy its ahabit I got into and no way out plus its bordom aswell that drives me to smoke I have to be doing something.
I quit smoking when I did yoga teacher training and learned to breathe. The breath work gave me a powerful way to calm my nervous system and reduce the tension that led me to want to smoke, and gave me a much deeper connection to my lungs, making me appreciate them a lot more.
Try to find a yoga teacher who will teach you good breathing techniques, it really is a life changing thing to do4 -
It's tough, but like anything else, you have to want to do it. I was told by my doctor when he put in a stent that the next time I might not get off the table alive if I kept smoking. That gave me incentive. I quit cold turkey because I had the drive to quit...That was 9 years ago. Now I don't even think about it. I did try a cigarette about 5 years ago and just about coughed up a lung. That cemented my resolve. I keep telling people, you only have to give up 1 cigarette....the next one. I wish it was that simple and easy but it's not....5
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I have been entirely smoke-free since October 13, 2016.
I smoked regularly from 1973 until 2000. My doctor(s) used to ask me how much I smoked; I would reply, "I dunno, I don't count them, I just smoke." In 2000 my 5 y/o daughter said, "Daddy, if you don't stop smoking, you're gonna die!" Within a month I had quit! (BTW, I NEVER smoked around her, or her mom when she was pregnant).
In 2012, at a backyard BBQ, some friends broke out cigars and scotch. I had one of each and liked it. Next time I saw them, same thing. Next thing you know, I was buying a cigar on a Wednesday afternoon. Not long after it became a daily thing, then up to 3 or 4 cigars a day. In 2014 I met the love of my life who told me after our second date that the cigars made her nauseated, so "me or the cigars...?". Using pretzel logic of an addictive personality, I decided to switch to cigarettes to wean myself off.
Over the next two years I tried a lot of strategies, including "vaping" (damn I hate that word!) with no success. Finally, after a regular checkup, my doctor convinced me to try Chantix. I had heard a lot of stuff about nightmares and suicide, but Doc assured me that those were not as common as I'd heard. I will report to you that the drug did in fact take the craving away...entirely after about a month.
I was not 100% successful on Chantix alone. The thing about Chantix is that you CAN smoke while taking it, so you have to work on the psychological aspects, too, otherwise you end up triggering on all your usual *kitten* - meals, sex, driving, etc.
The final solution for me was to use the Chantix in conjunction with a device called QuitKey.
https://lifesign.com/pages/quitkey-home-page
This thing tracks every cigarette for a week (you have to tell it every time you light up). After that, it calculates a plan to wean you off over 15 to 45 days.
So for a week, I ramped up my Chantix dose as prescribed and tracked my normal smoking. Beginning in week two, on a full daily dose of Chantix, the QuitKey began telling ME when to smoke. In about 33 days, my cigarettes were almost 8 hours apart, and the device said, "Congratulations! You've had your last cigarette!" Or something like that! I stayed on Chantix for a couple of more weeks, then ramped down off it.
I've never looked back.
You can do this.
Ask me anything.
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I quit 6 years ago when my husband was diagnosed with throat cancer. He loved his beer and cigarettes and drew the short straw. Naturally he was advised to give up smoking immediately and make a big effort to cut down or stop the booze.
It was horrible watching him go through chemo and radiotherapy and I gave up smoking too.......to support him. I used to smoke roll-ups because it was much cheaper in the long run than "tailor mades". I just said to myself that when I finished the pouch of tobacco that would be it. I threw out the ashtrays in the house, lighters and rolling papers. Have to say that the first week was a little tough but I wasn't going to fail AGAIN and be so lacking in willpower when he was going through such a tough time.
I tried the nicotine patches but to be honest after three days or so it seemed pointless as the nicotine is rapidly leaving your body and why give it another crutch because that is what it is.
I also downloaded the NHS (I'm in the UK) Smokefree app. I guess it will work for non-UK people too as it's available from iTunes and Google Play? https://www.nhs.uk/Tools/Pages/smokefree.aspx
This I found quite a help and it was fun to see how much money I was saving too and all the little tips it gives.
Two weeks passed ....hurrah! A slight longing for a smoke after a nice meal lingered but by distracting myself it passes. I think that's a big thing about giving up, distraction strategies. Even if it's drinking a glass of water. Apparently if you can ride out the crave which lasts a minute or so .....just keep repeating it!
Two months passed and I started realising how much cigarettes stink, even passing people smoking in the street or the reek on clothing in shops and bars. Agggh! I was turning into one of those whiney non-smokers!
I also cleaned or replaced soft furnishings in the house (with the money saved!) and got down to giving just about the whole house a fresh lick of paint and politely requested friends to smoke in our garden rather than the fug that used to be our living room.
Last year husband was given his 5 years clear which was fantastic. I was really shocked at how easy I found it to give up smoking as I had tried and failed before. There is a definite hump that you have to clear but it happens really early on....just kick that little devil whispering sweet nothings off your shoulder!
If you find yourself comfort eating, try and make it something like vege batons and houmous rather than mountains of starchy bread and sticky jam and cakes!
Good luck. I swear it's so worth it!
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Chantix. Been 9 years.
In the first 3 months I also took up running and liked breathing. And avoided my friends and social situations. One night 3 months in I drank beers while all of my friends smoked and I was totally fine.
Also need to have the mindset. I can never have 'just one'. Ever again. And I'm cool with it.
Good luck!2 -
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sflano1783 wrote: »Iv tried everything patches,gums sprays and therapy its ahabit I got into and no way out plus its bordom aswell that drives me to smoke I have to be doing something.
Have you tried talking to your doctor about a cessation pill? Or talking to your doctor about how hard it's been in general? I'm positive your doctor will want to help however they can. Also I found it a lot easier once I found a quitting buddy i could vent frustration to.0 -
craziedani wrote: »just stop ..... easy as that
You know I told my husband that all the time when I was a non smoker. Now I’m a smoker and I’m like this *kitten* is harder than I thought.
I have no answers. I wish I did for you. I did go two weeks forced quitting because of vanity when I had stitches and a broken bone in my face. I like my face. They said it would affect healing...I wasn’t about to look crazy. So I quit for two weeks and shouldn’t have started again. So I’m going to start again within the next two days. I have to. Plus I just started running again. It’s amazing how much it affects your lung capacity. I find it insane that I go to the gym and smoke right after. Who does that?
With all that being said. Good luck.
Hey ya'll should friend one another. A buddy who's going through the same thing as you can be an invaluable asset0 -
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